L 116 
.043 
1922 
COPY 1 



DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

' STATE OF ALABAMA^ 



A STATISTICAL STUDY 



OF 



EDUCATION IN ALABAMA 



FROM 1890 TO 1921 




JUL 08.1999 



y 



AUTHORIZED BY 
THE STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION 

1922 



NG €0. MONTCON 



.f\M3 



STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION 



Governor Thos. E. Kilby 
Mrs. T. G. Bush Dr. D. T. McCall L. B. Musgrove 

A. H. Carmichael Dr. R. H. McCaslin A. L. Tyler 
John W. Abercrombie, Executive Secretary 



/ 



o^; V' 



A';,,.-^ 



FOREWORD 



The statistical study of education in Alabama which is 
given in the pages of this bulletin consists of the first 
three parts of the annual report of the State Board of 
Education for the school year 1920-21. It gives a fairly 
complete picture of the progress which has been made 
during the last 30 years and of the tendencies which 
serve to predict the course of future growth. This mate- 
rial will serve the needs of those whose interest is in the 
general situation rather than in the details which make 
up this situation and which are included in the annual 
report. 

The record which has been shown in this bulletin is a 
record of progress in which the state may well take pride. 
It is at the same time a reminder that Alabama faces a 
rivalry in progress from the other Southern states which, 
if met honorably, will place new responsibilities on all 
believers in increased educational opportunity for Ala- 
bama's boys and girls. 



// Superintendent. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 



PARTI 

Page 

Progress from 1890 to 1921 , 5 

Summary 17 



PART II 



Financial Support from 1913 to 1921 19 

Summary 27 



PART III 

The School Year 1920-21 28 

Summary 54 



PART ONE 



PROGRESS FROM 1890 TO 1921 



my|iEASURED by the Ayres index number for state 
*^ I school systems,* Alabama's public schools gained 
^^1 74/(' as many points during the three year period 
from 1918 to 1921, inclusive, as were gained in the twen- 
ty-eight year period from 1890 to 1918. This phenom- 
enal progress should undoubtedly be attributed to the 
tremendous growth in public interest in education 
brought about by the war; to the law which established 
the county unit of school administration with a county 
superintendent appointed by the county board of educa- 
tion ; to the constitutional amendment which permitted 
the levying of county and district three-mill taxes, and to 
the new school code enacted by the legislature of 1919 
following the careful study of Alabama's school system 
made by representatives of the Federal Bureau of Educa- 
tion under the direction of the Alabama Education Com- 
mission. 

Col. Ayres says of the index number that it is "a well 
established statistical device commonly used for measur- 
ing changes in wholesale and retail prices and rates of 
wages over long periods of time." He says further that 
"such numbers are commonly reduced to percentages and 
the number for a given month is stated as being so many 
percentages of the figure for some previous period. Thus, 
wholesale prices are commonly given as percentages of 
the average price for the decade from 1890 to 1900, when 



*A method for rating state school systems devised by Col. Leon- 
ard P. Ayres and discussed at length in Ayres' "An Index Number 
for State School Systems" published at New York City by the De- 
partment of Education of the Russell-Sage Foundation in 1920. 
Ratings according to this system of measurements, which is the 
most satisfactory yet devised, are given for all the states for the 
period from 1890 to 1918, inclusive. 



they reached the lowest point recorded. In a similar way 
the index number for the cost of living, compiled by the 
United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, takes the price 
in 1913 as 100 and states its figure from month to month 
on that basis. By the beginning of 1920 this index num- 
ber had risen to 199." 

Using a similar method, Col. Ayres has taken 10 sets 
of educational data from which to form his index number 
for state school systems. "Increases in them,'* he says, 
"reflect improved educational conditions and decreases 
reflect worse conditions." The method by which this in- 
dex number is made up is given below, as outlined in his 
book: 

TABLE I 

COMPONENTS AND INDEX NUMBERS (AYRES) FOR 
ALABAMA— 1890 TO 1921 



Item 


1 

1 

1 1890 

1 
1 


1900 


1 
1910 I 


1918 


1921 


1 U.S. 
1 1918 

! 


1 1921 
White 1 Colored 


No. 1 


i 

; 33.78 


45.61 


1 
38.98 


44.92 


50.16 


! 56.20 


1 59.14 


36.19 


2 


1 12.41 


17.85 


22.90] 


27.75 


32.13 


' 45.20 


' 39.66! 


20.43 


3 


j 36.75 


39.15 


58.65! 


* 62.00 


64.00 


' 80.35 


I 67.00 : 


56.50 


4 


1 0.62 


3.85 


9.02' 


16.27 


25.62 


1 31.78 


34.08! 


4.11 


5 


i 74.42 


63.19 


72.52! 


70.11 


78.81 


' 75.70 


! 80.431 


49.83 


6 


1 4.88 


3.46 


11.04| 


17.75 


29.28 


: 49.11 


1 36.781 


10.22 


7 


i 1.65 


1.58 


4.30 


7.98 


14.69 


! 27.58 


1 21.75! 


3.70 


8 


i 5.87 


7.83 


13.82 


20.13 


35.94 


1 47.61 


! 41.C6! 


16.79 


9 


2.52 


0.71 


11.86! 


10.16 


20.74 


' 44.07 


1 26.34! 


6.48 


10 


1 8.71 


11.70 


26.131 


28.73 


46.43 


' 52.50 


1 52.711 


22.92 


Index 


1 
1 
18.16 

1 


19.50 


26 93' 

i 


30.58 


39.78 


! 

' 51.01 

1 


1 i 

' 45.90 

1 1 


22.72 



"The 10 numbered paragraphs which follow tell how 
the 10 items have been entered in the final index number 



and show how each one has been brought into relation- 
ship with a common basis, or educational par value, of 
100. All the figures relate to public day schools. 

"1. The per cent of school population attending school 
daily. This item has been included as a percentage fig- 
ure. It can never exceed 100. It is the per cent that the 
average daily attendance in day public schools is of the 
whole number of children of school age. The children of 
school age are those more than five and less than eighteen 
years old and these numbers are supplied by the United 
States Census. 

"2. Average days attended by each child of school age. 
This item has been included in the final total as one-half 
of the number found by dividing the aggregate days of 
attendance by the number of children of school age. If 
all the children of school age attended school every day, 
and if the schools were all open for 200 days during the 
year, the days per child would be 200. In order to make it 
comparable with the percentage figures, the number, as 
directly computed, is divided by two. 

"3. Average number of days schools were kept open. 
This figure is included in the index as one-half of the fig- 
ure given in the report of the Bureau of Education. At 
present a school year of 200 days is exceeded in few cit- 
ies and by no states. A record of 200 days, if found, 
would be included in the index as 100. If the school year 
were extended beyond 200 days, the number added would 
be proportionally greater than 100. 

"4. Per cent that high school attendance was of total 
attendance. This figure is included as three times the 
percentage that the high school pupils are of all the pu- 
pils attending. Since there are eight* elementary grades 



*The fact that Alabama has cnly seven elementary grades makes 
this component more favorable than to states having eight jrrade 
elementary systems. 



8 

and four high school grades, only one-third of the pupils 
could ever be in the high schools even if no children died 
and none dropped out. Since a perfect record would be 
made by having 33 1 /3 per cent of the pupils in the high 
school, the actual percentage found is multiplied by three 
before being included in the final results. Under present 
conditions the number so used must always be less than 
100. 

TABLE II 

GAIN OR LOSS IN EACH COMPONENT (AYRES' INDEX) 
FOR ALABAMA— 1890 TO 1921 



Item 



1890 

to 
1900 



1900 I 1910 I 1918 

to I to I to 
1910 1 1918 I 1921 



Co 4J 

CS jL o 
M 1— I tH 



oi ? S 






4) >»M 






All I White 
Schools! Schools 



No. 



1 1 + 11.83J— 6.63+ 5.94!^ 5.24+16.38 

2 1+ 5.44J+ 5.051+ 4.851+ 4.381 + 19.72 



3 
4 
5. 
6 

7. 
8 
9 
10 



+ 2.40l + 19.50|+ 3.35J+ 2.00| +27.25 

+ 3.23I+ 5.17'+ 7.25I+ 9.35I+25.OO 
— 11.23i+ 9.33 



— 1.42 

— 0.07 
+ 1.96 

— 1.81 
+ 2.99 



- 2.41 1 + 8.70|+ 4.39 
+ 7.58 + 6.7l| + 11.531 +24.40 
+ 2.72'+ 3.68J+ 6.7l| + 13.04 
+ 5.99|+ 6.3l|+15.81|+30.07 
+ 11.15|— 1.70| + 10.58| + 18.22 
+ 14.43'+ 2.60I+17.70J+37.72 



6.04 
13.07 
16.35 

6.16 



19.83 
12.89 
11.67 
23.33 
6.07 



5.54 
13.35 



12.33 

5.83 

6.55 

17.73 



Index 



1+ 1.341+ 7.43I+ 3.651+ 9.20+21.6211 11.231 5.11 



"5. Per cent that boys were of girls in high schools. 
This item is included in the final total at its face value. 
In general many more girls attend high school than do 



boys, but the proportion of boys is increasing. Its limit 
is taken as 100 per cent. In the very few instances in 
which more boys have been recorded than girls, the per 
cent of girls to boys has been used. 

"6. Average annual expenditure per child attending. 
This is entered in dollars at its face value. It is found by 
dividing the total expenditures by the average daily 
attendance in public day schools. 

"7. Average annual expenditure per child of school 
age. This item is entered in dollars at its face value. It 
is the total expenditures divided by the number of chil- 
dren of from five to eighteen years of age. 

"8. Average annual expenditure per teacher employed. 
This is entered as the result found by dividing the total 
expenditure by the whole number of teachers and divid- 
ing this quotient by 24. It is thus one-half of the month- 
ly expenditure per teacher if all twelve months of the 
year be taken into consideration. 

"9. Expenditure per pupil for purposes other than 
teachers' salaries. This item is entered in the final total 
as the result found by dividing the expenditures for pur- 
poses other than salaries by the number of children in 
average daily attendance and multiplying this figure by 
two. 

"10. Expenditure per teacher for salaries. This is 
entered as the total expenditure for salaries divided by 
the whole number of teachers employed during the year, 
and divided by 12. It gives the average monthly salary 
per teacher if all twelve months are taken into considera- 
tion, and every teacher is included." 

A score of 100 in each of these items would indicate 
the following conditions: 



10 

Value entered 
in index 

1. One hundred per cent of the children of school age would 
attend school and all would have pei-fect attendance 100 

2. Each child would attend school 200 days each year 100 

3. The school term would be 200 days 100 

4. Thirty-three and one-third per cent of the pupils would be 

in high school _ 100 

5. The boys in high school would be equal to 100 per cent of 
the girls „ 100 

6. The annual expenditure would average $100 for each child 

in average attendance 100 

7. The annual expenditure would average $100 for each 
child of school age 100 

8. The expenditures would amount to $200 per month for 
each teacher employed _ 100 

9. The expenditures for purposes other than teaching would 
amount to $50 per year per child attending 100 

10. Teachers' salaries would average $100 per month for 12 

months in the year 100 



Total divided by 10 — the index number i *100 

It should be noted that the first five of these items are 
what Col. Ayres describes as "educational components" 
and relate exclusively to such matters as attendance, 
length of term, etc. The second five which he terms 
"financial components" relate to the question of financial 
support from several points of view. 

Since the gains in the five financial components which 
appear in 1918 and 1921 are deceptive due to the sudden 
rise in the cost of living which began in 1916, it would 
undoubtedly be more accurate for this comparison to 
place these items on the basis of the purchasing power 



"Ayres' Index Number for State School Systems, p. 20. 



11 

represented by them. When this has been done, as ex- 
plained in the following paragraphs, it appears that Ala- 
bama's educational progress from 1918 to 1921 was ISVt 
of her educational progress from 1890 to 1918 as meas- 
ured by the number of points gained in the Ayres' index 
— rather than the 74 S' which was used at the beginning 
of this report. (This correction is not necessary for com- 
parison with index numbers of the same year for the 
United States since the same increases in the cost of liv- 
ing prevailed throughout the country.) 

In Table III the five financial components are given as 
computed on the basis of the actual expenditures and 
also on the basis of the purchasing power of these ex- 
penditures determined from government reports on the 
cost of living. Several interesting facts appear in this 
table : 

1. The gain from 1900 to 1910 in the average of the 
five financial components computed on the basis of the 
purchasing power of the dollar is a gain of almost 100 V^ . 
This is undoubtedly the result of the embodiment in the 
new constitution of 1901 of a state three-mill tax and a 
county one-mill tax for education. 

2. By 1918 the cost of living had mounted so high that 
in spite of an increase in actual expenditures the pur- 
chasing power of the schools was 33% lower than in 1910. 

3. Although until the middle of 1920 the cost of living 
continued to mount so that for 1920-21 the purchasing 
power of the dollar, now increasing, was still less than in 
1918, the added school revenues brought in by the county 
three-mill and district three-mill taxes were sufficient to 
wipe out the less in purchasing power between 1910 and 
1918 and give the schools for 1920-21 a 15% greater pur- 
chasing power than in 1910. 



12 



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13 



TABLE IV 

PER CENTS OF GAINS OR LOSSES IN EDUCATIONAL AND 

FINANCIAL COMPONENTS 

(1890 components considered as 100%) 



1 

1 


1890 to 
1900 


1900 to 
1910 


1910 to 1 
1918 


1918 to 
1921 


Educational Components: 

Gain for the period 

Total gain over 1890 


+ 7.4%. 

+ 7.4% 1 


+20.5% 

+ 27.9% 


+ 12.0%. 
+39.9% 


+ 18.8% 

+ 58.7% 


Financial Components:* 

Gain for the period 1 

Total gain over 1890 


+ 1.7%-' 
+ 1.7 %| 


+21.1% 

+22.8% 


—12.9% 
1 + 9.9%. 


+ 19.1%, 
+ 29.0%o 


♦Computed on basis 


of purchasin 


g power. 


See Table III. 



In Table IV the gains which have been made in the five 
educational components and in the five financial compo- 
nents corrected on the basis of the purchasing power of 
the dollar are shown. It will be noted from this table 
that the total gains at every period have been greater for 
the educational components than for the financial com- 
ponents. That is, for each increase in the purchasing 
power of the schools of the state there has been an in- 
crease in attendance, length of term, etc., disproportion- 
ately greater. In only two ways can this be explained. 

1. There has been a constant increase in eff"iciency in 
the investment of school funds. 

2. At times when, as in the period from 1917 to 1921, 
reduced purchasing power of the dollar otherwise threat- 
ened an educational set-back, length of term, attendance, 
etc., have been maintained at the expense of teachers' 
salaries. By turning to Table III and noting the figures- 
for item 10 which is based on teachers' salaries, it will be 



14 
TABLE V 



WHAT ALABAMA MUST DO TO BRING ALL SCHOOLS TO 
UNITED STATES AVERAGE FOR 1918 

(Ayres' index components) 



No. 1' Increase the per cent of the population between the ages of 

! six and seventeen, inclusive, who are attending school, 

I from 50.16?; to 56.207r. 
2 1 Increase the average number of days attended per child be- 

I tween the ages of six and seventeen, inclusive, from 64 

] days to 90 days. 
3 1 Increase the length of the school term from 128 days to 161 

I days. 
4 Increase the per cent which high school attendance is of total 

! attendance from 8.54?r to 10.599^. 
5' (United States average for 1918 already reached. See foot- 

I note.) 
6 Increase the average annual expenditure, per child attending, 

I from $29.28 to $49.11. 
7 1 Increase the average annual expenditure, per child between 

I the ages of six and seventeen, inclusive, from $14.69 to 

I $27.58. 
8 1 Increase the average annual expenditure, per teacher em- 

I ployed, from $862.56 to $1,142.64. 
9 [Increase the average annual expenditure, per pupil attend- 

I ing, for purposes other than teachers' salaries, from $10.37 

I to $22.04. 



10 1 Increase the average annual expenditure, per teacher, for 
I salaries from $536 to $630. 

NOTE — The United States average for years later than 1918 is 
not at this time available. In the past, the index number which is 
the average of the ten components has shown an increase of about 
2.00 every two years. 



15 

seen that the purchasing power of the average salary- 
paid was less in 1921 than in 1910 in spite of increases in 
the actual number of dollars paid. Between 1910 and 
1918 only a very slight increase in the actual average sal- 
ary occurred. The great falling off in the purchasing 
power of the dollar made this salary almost exactly- 
equivalent to the salary of 1900. For this reason more 
than any other, teachers abandoned the profession dur- 
ing the period beginning in 1917-18. By 1921, increases 
in salaries almost sufficient to restore their purchasing 
power to the level of 1910 had occurred, and the increas- 
ing school revenues resulting from the enactment of local 
taxes and from the increased tax valuation were rap- 
idly bringing back the day when it would be possible to 
continue educational progress without making such prog- 
ress conditional on the sacrifices of the teachers. 

If teachers' salaries are to be made more nearly ade- 
quate and the program of new school construction is to be 
continued in the rural communities with a view to the 
proper housing of rural children when in school, the next 
twenty-five years must see a higher rate of increase in 
the financial than in the educational components. Neither 
the payment of larger teachers' salaries, which are so 
badly needed if the right sort of teachers are to be se- 
cured and held, nor the investment of more money in new 
buildings will have a direct or immediate effect on the 
educational components of the index number. In other 
words, the slower rate of increase of the financial com- 
ponents points to what has been the chief weakness in 
Alabama's school system — the lack of adequate financial 
support. Teachers' salaries have been so low that it has 
not been possible to secure or retain properly trained 
teachers in any but a few specially favored communities. 
Investment in new buildings has not been sufficient to 
keep pace with the growing school population, to say 



16 
TABLE VI 



WHAT ALABAMA MUST DO TO BRING WHITE SCHOOLS TO 

UNITED STATES AVERAGE FOR 1918 

(Ayres' index components) 

\ 

No. Ij (United States average for 1918 already reached. See foot- 

I note.) 
2 1 Increase the average number of days attended per child be- 

I tween the ages of. six and seventeen, inclusive, from 79 

I days to 90 days. 
3 [Increase the length of the school term from 134 days to 161 

I days. 
4| (United States average for 1918 already reached. See foot- 

I note.) 

5| (United States average for 1918 already reached. See foot- 

I note.) 
6 1 Increase the average annual expenditure, per child attending, 

I from $36.78 to $49.11. 



7 1 Increase the average annual expenditure, per child between 
I the ages of six and seventeen, inclusive, from $21.75 to 

I $27.58. 

8 1 Increase the average annual expenditure, per teacher em- 

I ployed, from $985.44 to $1,142.64. 
9! Increase the average annual expenditure, per pupil attending, 

I for purposes other than teachers' salaries, from $13.17 to 

I $22.04. 
10| (United States average for 1918 already reached. It should 

I be noted, however, that the increases for this item 

I throughout the United States, since 1918 have been un- 

I precedented. See footnote.) 

NOTE — The United States average for years later than 1918 is 
not at this time available. In the past, the index number which is 
the average of the ten components has shown an increase of about 
2.00 every two years. 



17 

nothing of replacing the out-of-date and entirely inade- 
quate buildings inherited from a period of limited finan- 
cial resources resulting from the poverty of reconstruc- 
tion days. It is undoubtedly true that, if Alabama's chil- 
dren are to have at some time in the next twenty-five 
years the opportunity to be taught by well trained teach- 
ers in school buildings adapted to conserving the health 
of the child and to meeting the demands of modern meth- 
ods of education, before that time can be reached there 
must be a period during which the rate of growth of the 
financial components will exceed the rate of growth of the 
educational components of Alabama's index number. 

In Tables V and VI are shown the things which Ala- 
bama must do in order to bring her schools to the United 
States average for 1918. Table V shows the improve- 
ment which must be made in the average for all schools. 
Table VI shows the improvement which must be made in 
white schools alone. 

SUMMARY 

The public school system of Alabama made 74% as 
much progress educationally in the three-year period 
from 1918 to 1921 as in the previous twenty-eight year 
period from 1890 to 1918, as measured by the number of 
points gained in the Ay res' index number for state school 
systems. 

It was possible to maintain progress in the period from 
1918 to 1921, in spite of growing costs, in large measure 
because of the sacrifice of the teachers who were willing 
to accept inadequate salaries. 

The per cent of gain in such items as length of term, 
attendance, etc., since 1890 has been twice as great as the 
per cent of increase in the purchasing power of the 
schools, as measured by the number of points gained in 



18 

the several components of the Ayres' index number. The 
county board law under which the office of the county 
superintendent was removed from politics and the 1919 
school code, which throughout the United States has re- 
ceived recognition as a model for school organization, 
have resulted in increased efficiency in the investment of 
the school funds which in considerable measure is respon- 
sible for this greater educational return. 

Before the average for the United States can be 
reached, and certainly this standard is too low for the 
people of Alabama, terms must be lengthened, better 
teachers secured through the payment of larger salaries 
and better buildings substituted for the inadequate 
structures in which the majority of the rural children 
are at present housed. 



PART n 



FINANCIAL SUPPORT— 1913 TO 1921 



^prjHE review of educational progress in Alabama 
^* since 1890 which constitutes Part I of this report 
@^ shows that gains in such items as length of term, 
attendance, etc., were twice as great during this period as 
gains in the purchasing power of school funds. A study 
of the sources from which the purchasing power of the 
schools is derived shows changes, particularly during the 
period since 1913, which are most significant. For in- 
stance, 37.9 per cent of the total income of the state in 
1913 was expended for elementary and high school in- 
struction. By 1921 these schools were receiving only 
30.3 per cent of the state's income. The figures for the 
several years are as follows : 

PER CENT OF TOTAL STATE REVENUES FOR ALL PUR- 
POSES EXPENDED FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 



1913 I 1914 I 1915 I 1916 1917 



37.9% I 38.6%] 38.0%! 37.6%! 33.8%- 

III! 



1918 j 1919 j 1920 j 1921 
33.5% I 35.1 %J 31.0%! 30.3% 



As the figures show clearly, this decrease in the per 
cent of the total state revenue for all purposes which was 
expended for the public schools is not due to diversion of 
funds to the higher institutions. During the period from 
1913 to 1921 the higher institutions including the normal 
schools showed increases in enrollment several times as 
great as the increases in the public schools. In 1913 these 
institutions received 6.4 per cent of the total state rev- 
enue. In 1921 they received 7.2 per cent, an increase for 
the period of 0.8 per cent. Obviously this trifling increase 



20 

cannot account for the fact that the percentage of total 
revenue devoted to pubHc schools decreased 7.6 per cent. 
Between 1913 and 1921 the expenditures of the state 
for elementary and high schools increased 70.6 per cent. 
Local support of these schools increased during the pe- 
riod 330.6 per cent. 

TABLE VII 




In 1916-17 more than half of each dollar of school revenue came 
from the state. By 1920-21 local revenues had increased so much 
more rapidly than state revenues as to represent two-thirds of 
each dollar of school support. 

Table VII shows the sources, state and local, from 
which each dollar of school revenue was derived in 1917 
and in 1921. (The former year was the last year prior to 
the collection of three mill county and district taxes in 
the counties first levying under the constitutional am.end- 
ment ratified in 1916.) Fifty-three cents out of every 
dollar of school revenue were derived from state sources 
in 1917. By 1921 local support had been so increased 



21 

that the state's share of each dollar of school revenue had 
shrunk to 34 cents. 

The transition is shown in greater detail in Table VIII. 
In this table the left hand column of each pair of columns 
shows the purchasing power of the school funds for the 
year noted. The right hand column shows the funds 
from which this purchasing power was derived. The 
lower portion of each column indicates state sources and 
the upper portion local sources. 

TABLE VIII 



414,000,000 



-rr 



(?/ ^ui//c 5c/>oo/s 
Y/A fro/n 
\/\Loco/ 
Y/A 3oc/rces 



3c/>oo/ ^i/i7e/3 h^/r/c/t 

\"\rro/rt 
I I loco/ 
[_ \30i/rces 




The left hand column of each pair of columns shows the pur- 
chasing power of the public schools (1913 basis). The right hand 
column shows the funds which gave this purchasing power. The 
lower section of each column indicates state funds, the upper sec- 
tion indicates local funds. 

By noting the right hand columns for the several years 
it will be seen that state funds increased fairly steadily 
from 1913 to 1921 with a slight setback in 1917. The left 
hand column shows, however, that the increased cost of 
living caused the purchasing power of these state funds 
to fall off steadily from 1916 to 1919, recovering only suf- 



22 

ficiently by 1921 to bring their purchasing power back 
approximately to the level of 1913. 

This table shows also how the local communities, tak- 
ing advantage of the local tax amendment, came to the 
rescue in 1918 and from that time on steadily increased 
the purchasing power of the schools by drawing on local 
resources until by 1920 the level of 1913 had again been 
passed. From a study ol these figures it is evident that 
during the period of greatly increased cost of living when 
educational progress was most seriously threatened it 
was the people themselves who kept the school system in- 
tact. Closely in touch with the emergency and keenly 
aware of the need they increased their support of public 
education four times as rapidly as did the state. 

It is evident from the facts that these local communi- 
ties with their greater sensitiveness to the needs of the 
schools should be permitted more discrimination in deter- 
mining the extent to which they will support public edu- 
cation than is now allowed them under the state constitu- 
tion. The limitations placed on local taxation by the con- 
stitution grew out of the necessity of protecting the 
treasury from plundering during reconstruction days. 
These limitations are no longer necessary. They deprive 
the people of the right to do for their schools the things 
which they have clearly shown that it is their desire 
to do. 

In 1918, according to the Ayres index number for state 
school systems which has been referred to in Part I of 
this report, Alabama's educational system ranked fourth 
from last among the states. Alabama's chief weakness 
as revealed by that study is the inadequacy of her finan- 
cial support of education. The three states which were 
ranked below her educationally in 1918 were South Caro- 
lina, Mississippi and Arkansas. It does not forbid a 
just pride in the rapid progress of recent years to ac- 



knowledge that there is reason to believe that these 
states also have made great progress, particularly in the 
matter of financial support. There is even room for fear 
that the next compilation of the Ayres index number 
may show that one or more of these three states may 
have climbed above Alabama. 

The following paragraphs give in brief form a state- 
ment of the provisions made by 10 of the Southern states 
for the financial support of their schools. The rank of 
these states in 1918 as compared with Alabama is shown 
in each case. 

South Carolina (ranked last among the 
states, three places below Alabama) .—This 
state has no state school tax. The legislature 
makes annual appropriations for schools and for 
institutions. These appropriations during the 
last year required a state tax of three mills. 
The minimum county school tax is three mills. 
This minimum is supplemented in many coun- 
ties. This year the maximum county school tax 
is seven and one-half mills, but the law fixes no 
limit. District taxes vary. The minimum is one 
mill. The maximum now being levied is thirty- 
seven mills. The assessed valuation is 42 per 
cent of the actual valuation. 

Mississippi (ranked next to last among the 
states, two places below Alabama). — This state 
has no state millage for schools but appropria- 
tions are made by the legislature. There is no 
limit on county and district school taxes. The 
highest school tax now being levied is 31 mills. 
The assessed valuation is 60 per cent of the ac- 
tual valuation. 

Arkansas (ranked third from last among the 
states, next below Alabama.) — The state school 



24 

tax limit is three mills ; the district tax limit, 12 
mills. This state has no county tax. The as- 
sessed valuation is 40 per cent of the actual 
valuation. 

North Carolina (ranked fifth from last among 
the states, next above Alabama). — The state de- 
rives all of its revenue from the income tax and 
appropriates $1,400,000 as an equalizing fund. 
Counties are required to levy a tax sufficient to 
run the schools six months. This is usually 
about four mills. Districts may levy five mills 
additional. The legislature by special act may 
authorize districts to levy any rate the people 
will vote. 

Georgia (ranked sixth from last among the 
states, two places above Alabama). The schools 
get one-half of the state revenue derived from 
five mills taxation. Counties are required to 
levy from one to five mills. Districts may also 
levy taxes up to five mills. 

Louisiana (ranked seventh from last among 
the states, three places above Alabama). Two 
and one-half mills state tax, three mills county 
tax and five mills additional, permitted by vote 
of the county or district, go into the school fund 
of Louisiana. Assessed valuation is 100 per 
cent of actual valuation. The severance tax re- 
cently enacted adds largely to these school rev- 
enues. 

Kentucky (ranked eighth from last among the 
states, four places above Alabama). The maxi- 
mum school tax in cities is fifteen mills, in inde- 
pendent graded school districts twelve and one- 
half mills, in counties five mills. Assessed valu- 
ation of real estate is 75 per cent of actual valu- 



■ 25 

ation. Assessed valuation of other property is 
100 per cent of actual valuation. 

Tennessee (ranked ninth from last among the 
states, five places above Alabama) . County levy 
for schools is limited to an amount equal to the 
total state levy of four and a half mills. The 
validity of this limitation is questioned, how- 
ever, and many counties actually exceed this 
limit. There is no limit on school taxation in the 
cities. The assessed valuation equals the actual 
valuation. The state tax for schools is eight- 
tenths of one mill. One-third of the gross re- 
ceipts of the state also goes to the schools. 

Florida (ranked twelfth from last among the 
states, eight places above Alabama) . The school 
tax limit for the state is one mill, for the county 
10 mills and for the district three mills. A pro- 
' posed extension of the district tax limit to 10 
mills is soon to be voted on by the people. 

Texas (ranked thirteenth from last am.ong the 
states, nine places above Alabama). The state 
school tax limit is three and one-half mills ; the 
district tax limit, 10 mills. There is no limit on 
county school taxes. The assessed valuation is 
100 per cent of the actual valuation. 

A comparison of the foregoing figures with the situa- 
tion in Alabama where the tax limit consists of three 
mills state, four mills county and three mills district, in- 
dicates that in all of these states the total number of mills 
which may be levied in state, county and district for the 
support of the public schools is greater than the number 
of mills which may be levied in Alabama. The following 
summary statement emphasizes this fact: 

Mississippi and South Carolina ranked below Alabama 
in 1918. In Mississippi, South Carolina, North Carolina 



26 

and Texas there is now no limit on county taxation for 
school support. In Tennessee the limit which is imposed 
exists in an old statute which the Tennessee State De- 
partment of Education reports has probably been super- 
seded by later laws and would probably be declared in- 
valid if tested. The limitations imposed by this statute 
are being ignored by a number of counties. In other 
words, five of the ten Southern states mentioned above 
are now without limit on county taxation. 

Mississippi ranked below Alabama in 1918. There is 
now no limit on district taxation in Mississippi. In North 
Carolina the legislature by special act may authorize dis- 
tricts to levy any rate the people will vote. 

There is no limit on city taxation for school purposes in 
Tennessee. The city school tax limit in Kentucky is 15 
mills. 

Mississippi and South Carolina ranked below Alabama 
in 1918. The maximum district school tax now being lev- 
ied in South Carolina is 37 mills. The maximum total 
school tax now being levied in Mississippi is 31 mills. 

It is not reasonable to suppose that a slower rate of 
progress will result in the states which have these more 
liberal provisions for financial support. A proper sense of 
pride in the educational progress of Alabama demands 
that the financial support of the schools of this state be 
increased to the point which will insure that the new 
school organization set up by the school code of 1919 may 
function to the fullest degree in placing the public school 
system of Alabama at the head of the public school sys- 
tems of the South. Surely progress to such a position is 
not too high a goal for achievement within the next 10 
years. 



27 

SUMMARY. 

The per cent of the total state revenue for all purposes 
expended for public elementary and high schools de- 
creased from 37.9 per cent in 1913 to 30.3 per cent in 
1921. 

Between 1913 and 1921 while the state was increasing 
its funds for the support of elementary and high schools 
by 70.6 per cent, the local communities were increasing 
their support of these schools by 330.6 per cent. 

Fifty-three cents of each dollar of school revenue were 
derived from state sources in 1917. Thirty-four cents of 
each dollar of school revenue were derived from state 
sources in 1921. 

The constitutional limit on school taxation in Alabama 
is lower than the limit in other Southern states. More 
liberal provisions for the financing of the public schools 
in many of these states indicate the danger that Alabama 
may fall to a lower rank than that assigned her in 1918. 
At that time the rank assigned her was fourth from last 
among the 48 states. 



PART THREE 



THE SCHOOL YEAR 1920-21 



I 



N PART ONE of this report the educational statis- 
tics for Alabama for the school year 1920-21 have 
been brought together in accordance with the 
method of procedure devised by Col. Leonard P. Ay res in 
such a way as to give in a most compact form an index 
of the general educational condition of the state. In this 
part of the report the statistics are set out in more detail. 

With>the school year 1920-21 such improvements had 
been effected in the method of recording and reporting 
the school statistics of the state that for the first time it 
was possible to say that these statistics were being as- 
sembled closely in accordance with the generally accepted 
nomenclature and definitions used by the Federal Bureau 
of Education. For the first time also these statistics 
were recorded for white and for colored schools separate- 
ly rather than, as hitherto had been the case particularly 
for financial items, for the average of white and colored 
schools. 

These changes result in two distinct advantages: 1. 
The possibility of comparing educational statistics for 
Alabama with those of other states using these standard 
definitions. 2. The possibility of comparing the returns 
for the white schools of Alabama with the returns for 
the essentially white school systems of northern states. 

In Table IX the enrollm.ent in the public elementary 
schools has been given for the years 1919-20 and 1920-21. 
The latter year marked the depth of the financial depres- 
sion which succeeded the false prosperity of the war 
period. That this depression had its effect on school en- 
rollment is shown by the slight decreases in total white 
and total colored elementary enrollment for the state. 



29 

TABLE .IX 

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ENROLLMENT 

; WHITE SCHOOLS I COLORED SCHOOLS 



11919-20 i 1920-21 1 In- 1 1919-20 [1920-21 1 In- 
I I I crease I I I crease 



Rural [ 309,508 288,524 * | 136,988 


129,233 * 


City _...._ 1 57,897! 69,3311 * 29,765 


1 
I 

35,107 * 


County High 1 | 
Schools ' 5041 677 34.39r 


i 




■ 1 


State Secondary | 1 | 
Agric. Schools...! 2401 211 tl3.7% 
















1 [ 1 ! 

Total for State I 368,149'; 358,7431 f2.67c'\ 166,753 

f ' 1 1 


164,340 j tl.3% 

1 
1 



fDecrease. 

*Twenty-six communities having a population of 1,000 or over 
which vi'ere under the control of their county boards of education in 
1919-20 and therefore classed as rural at that time were in 1920-21 
classed as cities under independent boai'ds of education. 



A glance at Table X which shows the percentage of 
elementary enrollment which was in average daily at- 
tendance reveals the interesting fact that, concurrent 
with the slight- decrease in this enrollment, was a coun- 
terbalancing increase in the per cent of those enrolled 
who were in attendance. This increase was sufficiently 
great to make the average daily attendance for 1920-21 
3% greater than for the previous year in the white ele- 
mentary schools of the state and 4% greater than for the 
previous year in the colored elementary schools of the 
state, as is shown in Table XL 



30 
TABLE X 

PER CENT WHICH ELEMENTARY ATTENDANCE WAS OF 
ELEMENTARY ENROLLMENT 



WHITE SCHOOLS l COLORED SCHOOLS 





1919-2011920-21 


In- 
crease. 


,1919-20 


1920-21 1 In- 
crease. 


Rural 


, 62.5%! 66.7% 


4.2% 


61.4% 


65.3%; 3.9% 






1 



City I 69.6% I 76.77c! 7.1%! 62.7%! 67.1% 4.4% 



County High I | | I 

Schools i i 74.2% 1 1. 



State Secondary j j j 

Agric. Schools 57.1% 77.6%! 20.5% 



Total for State 1 64.9% 68.6% | 3.7% | 61.6%, | 65.5% [ 3.9% 

Alabama's children are as eager to attend school as children in 
other parts of the country. The following figures for the United 
States (1918) giving the percentage which attendance was of en- 
rollment in elementary and high schools combined illustrate this 
fact: Alabama, Rural, 67.1%; U. S., Rural, 71.6'v^; Alabama, City, 
79.6%; U. S., City, 78.4%. (Bulletin, 1920, No. 31, U. S. Bureau of 
Education, p. 24.) Poor roads would easily account for the fact 
that the Alabama rural figures are slightly below the United States 
rural. 

It should be noted that 907 white children and 33 col- 
ored children who are enrolled in public kindergartens 
are included for convenience in the city elementary school 
enrollment. For the same reason the public kindergarten 
enrollment has been included in the enrollment for grade 
one in the statistics given in Part Five at the back of 
this report. Table XII shows the cities having public kin- 
dergartens and the number of pupils enrolled in each city. 

The slight decrease in elementary school enrollment 
which was shown in Table IX and attributed to the finan- 
cial stringency which marked this year finds its contra- 



31 

TABLE XI 
ELEMENTARY ATTENDANCE 



WHITE SCHOOLS i COLORED SCHOOLS 



11919-20 11920-21 I In- 11919-20 '1920-21 | In- 
\ I ! crease. | ! | crease. 

Rural ] 198,3141 192,426' =• i 84,094! 84,3991 * 

City I 40,269[ 53,177j * | 18,663 23,265| * 

County High I I I I I i 

Schools I t373'j 5021 34.6%! ! i 

State Secondary ' ' I I | | 



Agric. Schools- 


! 137! 156! 


13.97^1 1 










Total for State 


1 239,093 246,261! 


3.0%! 102,757 107.664 i 


4.8% 



fEstimated. 

*Twenty-six communities having a population of 1,000 or over 
w^hich were under the control of their county boards of education in 
1919-20 and therefore classed as rural at that time w^ere in 1920-21 
classed as cities under independent boards of education. 

diction in Table XIII which shows an amazing increase in 
the high school enrollment for the same year. This ap- 
parent contradiction is easily explained when the atten- 
tion is directed to the type of communities in which high 
schools are usually to be found. It was the tenant farmer 
and the small land owner who suffered most in this period 
of rapidly falling prices of farm products. Among this 
group there was for a time much actual want. The 
greater number of these small farmers live in the more 
strictly rural communities and in many cases out of reach 
of high schools. The falling off in attendance among the 
children from these homes, due to lack of proper clothing 
or necessary school books, would therefore effect elemen- 
tary enrollment almost exclusively. 



32 

TABLE XII 

ENROLLMENT IN PUBLIC KINDERGARTENS, 1920-21 



WHITE 



COLORED 



Male Female I Male I Female 



Jacksonville 

Lanett 

Mobile 

Opelika 

Tuskegee 

Huntsville ... 
Mignon 



27 

60 

•295 

10 



22 1 
341 



36 

60 

311 

12 



131 

271 



18 



15 



Total. 



4481 



4591 



18 



15 



On the other hand the larger type of farmer and those 
engaged in other occupations were better able to weather 
the period of depression and to keep their children in 
school. This group of the population is also the group 
which in most cases is located within reach of high 
school. Employment at attractive wages which had for- 
merly been available to the older boys and girls from 
these homes was now no longer to be had. The result 
was that these children returned to school and, being 
older, in most cases to high school. 

This extraordinary increase in high school enrollment 
was accompanied by an equally marked increase in the 
per cent of those enrolled who were in average daily at- 
tendance. Table XIV shows that this increase amounted 
to 8.9% for the white high schools of the state. 



33 

TABLE XIII 
HIGH SCHOOL ENROLLMENT 



WHITE SCHOOLS j COLORED SCHOOLS 



11919-20! 1920-21 I In- '1919-20 11920-21 j In- 
I I I crease. | I crease. 



Rural I 15,652| 17,857| * ! 543| 568| * 

City I 9,954| 12,051j * j 1,052 1 1,212! * 

County High ! I I j | ! 

Schools I 6,453| 6,9011 6.9%\ ! i 

State Secondary | | I I 1 | 

Agric. Schools...] 1,2791 1,497'j 17.0"'%1 j... j 

Total for State j 33,338] 38,306| 14.9% | 1,595| 1,780| 11.6% 

*Twenty-six communities having a population of 1,000 or over 
which were under the conti-ol of their county boards of education 
in 1919-20 and therefore classed as rural at that time were in 1920- 
21 classed as cities under independent boards of education. 

Table XV shows the average daily attendance in the 
high schools for the years 1919-20 and 1920-21. The in- 
crease in the attendance on the white high schools was 
28.7% ; on the colored high schools 23.8'y . It should be 
noted here that this rapid increase in attendance on high 
schools, in which the cost of instruction as shown by 
figures from the entire country, is about three times as 
great as in elementary schools, involves a problem of 
financial support which will be taken up at more length 
later in these pages. 

Table XVT shows the per cents of elementary and of 
high school enrollment which are located respectively in 
the rural districts, in the cities, in the county high schools 
and in the state secondary agricultural schools. It is sig- 
nificant of the need of the rural communities of the state 



34 

TABLE XIV 

PER CENT WHICH HIGH SCHOOL ATTENDANCE WAS OF 
HIGH SCHOOL ENROLLMENT 



WHITE SCHOOLS | COLORED SCHOOLS 



11919-20 11920-21 I In- 11919-20 |1920-21 1 In- 
I I I crease. I | I crease. 



Rural 


71.3% j 


73.8% 1 


1 
2.5% 1 


57.5% j 


78.7% i 


21.2% 


City 


82.8% 


96.2% 


13.4% 1 


85.5% 


86.8% 1 


1.3% 


County High 1 
Schools 1 


64.2 %/| 


81.5%/| 


17.37ol. 


i 










I 




State Secondary ! 
Agric. Schools...! 


! 

75.4% 1 


i 
77.9% 


2.5% 1- 




! 






' 






Total for State | 


1 

73.5%! 


82.4% 


8.9% 


I 
75.9% 


84.2% 


8.3% 



for better high school facilities that, as shown in column 
three of Table XVI, only one out of eleven white boys and 
girls who are attending rural schools is in high school, 
whereas in the cities one out of six is in high school. It 
should be noted too that in obtaining this ratio for the 
rural schools every county high school and state second- 
ary agricultural school pupil has been considered a rural 
child although many of these children come from commu- 
nities which are now classed as cities. 

The shorter terms, poorer attendance, inferior build- 
ings and inferior teaching service which the following 
pages show are the lot of the average boy or girl attend- 
ing the rural schools leave their mark on the distribution 
of the school enrollment of the state by grades. 

Table XVII shows the per cent of the total white enroll- 
ment, rural and city, which is in each grade. Table XVIII 
shows the per cent of the total colored enrollment which 



35 

TABLE XV 
HIGH SCHOOL ATTENDANCE 



WHITE SCHOOLS | COLORED SCHOOLS 



1919-20 11920-211 In- [1919-20 11920-21 | In- 
I I I crease. | I ! crease. 



Rural I 11,167| 13,179i * | 312| 447 * 

City i 8,241| 11,588| * j 899j 1,052] * ' 

County High j \ j \ j \ 

Schools I 4,1461 5,626| 35.7%! ! ' 

State Secondary I | I I j | 

Agric. Schools..! 9651 1,166'j 20.8% | | ' 

Total for State | 24,519| 31,559| 28.7 7H 1,211} 1,499| 23.8% 

*Twenty-six communities having a population of 1,000 or over 
which vi^ere under the control of their county boards of education in 
1919-20 and therefore classed as rural at that time were in 1920-21 
classed as cities under independent boards of education. 

is in each grade. The marked degree in which the rural 
enrollment has been "piled up" in the first grade becomes 
evident when compared with the per cent for the cities 
whose record may in no sense be looked upon as a high 
standard. 

Length of the school term is shown in Table XIX as 
computed in accordance with the definition generally ac- 
cepted throughout the United States. This definition, 
which excludes from the term as previously reported all 
days on which children were not actually in the class 
room receiving instruction, is on the average five days 
shorter than the term would be as previously computed. 
In Table XIX the upper figure in each case gives the 
estimated term if the definition formerly in use were to 
be continued. The lower figure, which is in heavy type, 



36 



TABLE XVI 

PERCENTAGE DISTRIBUTION OF PUBLIC SCHOOL 
ENROLLMENT 1920-21 



WPIITE SCHOOLS COLORED SCHOOLS 



[Elemen-! High | jElemen-I High j 

tary | School ' Ratio | tary | School ' Ratio 





1 
1 




1 


1 


1 




Rural 


1 
80.4% 


46.6% 


*1-11| 


1 
78.6% 


31.9% 1 


1-228 






City 


19.3% 


31.5% 


1-6 1 


21.4% 


68.1%! 


1-29 


County High 
Schools 


1 

0.2 %,| 


18.0% 




1 
i 


...._ 1.. 

1 








State Secondary 
Agric. Schools 


1 
0.1%] 


3.9% 




1 


! 














Total for State 


100.0% 


100.0% 


1-9 1 


100.0% 


100.0% 


1-92 



*In obtaining this ratio the county high schools and state second- 
ary agricultural schools have been grouped with the rural schools. 

gives the net term after the deductions outlined in the 
definition now in use have been made. 

If the inadequacy of the terms shown in Table XIX 
is appalling to those who have the best interests of the 
children of Alabama at heart, how much more appalling 
are the conditions shown in Table XX which gives the 
average number of days attended by each pupil. For the 
average rural white boy or girl attending the elementary 
grades, 79 days of instruction must give all the education 
received during any single year. It needs no demonstra- 
tion to convince anyone at all familiar with what consti- 
tutes proper educational standards that such a meagre 
period of attendance bars the boy or girl whose education 
is thus limited from many of the opportunities which a 
longer period of attendance guarantee the boy and girl 




GRADE / 



/^c/ra/ 3c/?oo/3. VA C//^ 3c/?oo/3. 



Fbr C£:nt or TarAL IV/y/rr: 
Enrollment /n Each O/^ao^ 

in the city. This fact is not one newly discovered but 
rather one which must be stated and re-stated with in- 
creasing emphasis until correction is brought about, not 
by limiting the opportunities of the city boy or girl, but 
by increasing the opportunities of the rural boy and girl. 
Something further of the handicap under which the 
rural boy or girl sets out to obtain his public school edu- 
cation is shown in Table XXL This table makes clear 
that five out of ten white rural schools are one-teacher 
schools; that three more are two-teacher schools; that 
one is a three-teacher school and that the tenth is a four- 
teacher or larger school. It shows also that approximate- 



38 
TABLE XVIII 




GmOi 1 



■ /r'i/ra/ 3c/7oo/3. VA C//y ^c/?oo/3 

r£R Cf/vr or 3rAL CoLO/^ro 

ly three out of every ten white boys or girls attending the 
rural schools attend one-teacher schools ; that three more 
attend two-teacher schools ; that two attend three and 
four-teacher schools and that two attend larger schools. 
Consolidation is the only practical solution of the weak- 
ness of these small schools in which poorly trained teach- 
ers must attempt to teach more grades than even a high- 
ly trained teacher could manage effectively. The figures 



39 

TABLE XIX 
LENGTH OF TERM IN DAYS, 1920-21 



WHITE SCHOOLS I COLORED SCHOOLS 



Elemen-; High | JElemen-i High | 

tary | School | Total | tary | School | Total 



! 

Rural 


124 
119 


143 
138 


1251 
120 


102 
97 


147 1 
142 


102 
97 


City j 


178 
173 


177 
172 


178| 

173' 


172 
167 


177 1 
172] 


172 
167 


County High \ 
Schools 1 


180 
176 


180 
176 


180 1 
176 




j 








State Secondary 
Agric. Schools... 


180 
178 


180 
177 


1 
180 1 

178| 




1 
i 
j 












Total for State 


136 
131 


164 
159 


139' 
134| 


117 
112 


169 

1641 

1 


118 
113 



The upper figure under each heading gives the length of term 
according to the definition used in previous reports. The low^er 
figure, printed in heavy type, gives the length of term according to 
the definition (see text) which vi^ill be used in future reports. The 
terms for Alabama's vi^hite schools compare as follows with the 
terms for the United States (1918): Alabama, Rural, 120; U. S., 
Rural, 144; Alabama, City, 173; U. S., City, 182. (Bulletin, 1920, 
No. 31, U. S. Bureau of Education, p. 11.) It should be noted that 
the figures for the United States are for white and colored schools 
combined. 

showing the number of schools of each type which are 
located in districts having the district tax emphasize the 
fact that money is the essential to consolidation and the 
guarantees which consolidation gives of better instruc- 
tion. Four-fifths of all communities having six-teacher, 
or larger, rural schools have the district tax, whereas 
only one community in seven which is served by a one- 



40 



TABLE XX 



AVERAGE NUMBER OF DAYS ATTENDED BY EACH PUPIL, 

1920-21 



WHITE SCHOOLS 



Elemen-! High | 

I tary | School i Total 



COLORED SCHOOLS 



Elemen-I High | 

tary | School I Total 



Rural I 79| lOll 81' 63| 1121 64 

City ! iW 165^ 1381 112" 14? 112 

County High T ' \ j ^ \ 

Schools I 131 ; 143| 1421 1 i 

State Secondary | t I | i ' 

Agric. Schools...| 138[ 138j 138| | | 

\ ^ I \ ^ r " 

Total for State | 90' 131! 94' 741 138 74 

The average number of days attended by each pupil for Ala- 
bama's white schools compares as follows with the average for the 
United States (1918): Alabama, Rural. 81; U. S., Rural, 103; 
Alabama, City, 138; U. S., City, 143. (Bulletin, 1920, No. 31, U. S. 
Bureau of Education, pp. 11-15.) It should be borne in mind that 
the figures for the United States are for white and colored schools 
combined. 



teacher school has this tax. In other words, where the 
revenue is the better, schools are. Some method must be 
found of providing the revenue and the encouragement 
necessary for the elimination wherever possible of the 
smaller type of rural school as rapidly as road improve- 
ment makes travel to these schools feasible. Only in this 
way will the educational opportunities of rural boys and 
girls be steadily increased toward the point where they 
will approximate the opportunities of city boys and girls. 
Table XXII gives the number of white teachers employ- 
ed in the public schools for the school year 1920-21. The 
total number of white teachers, 10,371 , represents an in- 



41 



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42 



crease of 4.9 '/< over the number employed during the pre- 
vious year. It is worth while to note that 85,6 'a of these 
teachers are elementary teachers under the definition 
used in gathering this material. This definition classifies 
as elementary teachers all who devote half or more than 
half of their teaching time to teaching grades 1 to 7, and 
as high school teachers all who devote half or more than 
half of their teaching time to teaching grades 8 to 12. 



TABLE XXII 
NUMBER OF WHITE TEACHERS EMPLOYED, 1920-21 



MALE 



FEMALE 



Elemen-i High | jElemen-l High | 

tary | School I Total | tary | School j Total 







1 
1 


1 

1 


! 






Rural 


1,584 


387 


1,9711 


I 

5,733 


376 


6,109 


City _ 


22 


97j 


1191 


1,519! 


324 


1,829 


County High 
Schools '■ 


1 
2! 


99; 


101 


14 


157 


171 






State Secondary t 
Agric. Schools...] 


oj 


• 251 


25| 


3[ 


29 


46 


Total for State ' 


1,608'j 


608' 


2,216[ 


1 
7,269! 


886 


8,155 



Table XXIII gives the total payments which were made 
to these teachers and Table XXIV the average salaries 
paid. Similar information for the colored schools of the 
state is given in Tables XXV, XXVI and XXVII. 

The types of certificates held by these teachers are 
shown in Table XXXVIII. In general it may be assumed 
that the certificates in the order given in this table 
classify their holders in the order of the adequacy of 
their professional training. Those teachers who hold 



43 

TABLE XXIII 
TOTAL SALARIES PAID TO WHITE TEACHERS, 1920-21 



MALE 



FEMALE 



Elemen- 
tary 



High 
School 



Total 



Elemen- 
tary 



High 
School 



Total 



Rural 1$ 747,209 '$ 379,393J$1,126,602[$2,837,827!$ 247,850j$3,085,677 

City 25,563 \ 129,939| 155,5021 1,402,4991 389,256' 

County High i 

Schools ..| 

State Sec. ! I ! I I | 

Agr. Schools! 1 48,7561 48,7561 2,679] 28,816| 41,440 



1,810 I 164,441 166,251 



ll,153t 145,404 



1,781,810 
156,557 



Total f or j I ! I I ' 

State 1$ 774,582 1$ 722,529|$l,497,llll$4,254,158i$ 811,3261 $5,065,484 



professional certificates have usually received good pro- 
fessional training and, with few exceptions, those teach- 
ers who hold third grade certificates have little or no pro- 
fessional training. This table shows that seven out of 
ten white rural teachers hold the two poorest types of 
teaching certificates, but only three out of ten city teach- 
ers. Here is indicated most strikingly the fact that the 
training of those who teach rural boys and girls is much 
poorer than the training of those who teach city boys 
and girls. . 

The reason is not far to seek. The training of teachers 
for the elementary schools (and it is elementary school 
teachers almost exclusively who hold the lower grades of 
certificates) is the task of the normal schools of the state. 
These institutions have been so badly handicapped by 
lack of adequate financial support that they have been 
unable to do more than a small part of the task imposed 



44 

TABLE XXIV 

AVERAGE SALARIES PAID TO WHITE TEACHERS, 1920-21 



MALE 



FEMALE 





1 1 
1 

Elemen- 
tary 1 


High 1 lElemen- 
School 1 Total j tary 


High 
School Total 


Rural 


$ 


472 


$ 980$ 


572[$ 


495 


$ 659$ 


505 


City 


1 
1 


1,162 


1,340 1 


1,307 


923 


1 
1,201 


974 


County High 1 
Schools 1 


905 


1,661 


1,646| 


797 


926 


916 




1 




State Secondary 
Agric. Schools...! 


o' 


l,950j 


1,950 


893 


994! 


901 


Total for 


State $ 


482 


$ 1,1881$ 


! 

676'$ 


585 


1 
$ 916!$ 


621 



on them by the needs of the schools. The demand for 
their students has so greatly exceeded the supply that in 
many cases these students have been induced to leave 
before completing their training for teaching. Further- 
more, the longer terms, larger salaries and better living 
conditions usually found in the cities have diverted the 
great majority of these students to the city schools. 

The certificate regulations of the State Board of Edu- 
cation have placed increasing emphasis on professional 
training, and a steadily increasing number of prospective 
teachers are looking to the normal schools for adequate 
preparation for teaching. If they are to receive this 
preparation the normal schools must be given the finan- 
cial support necessary to enable them to meet properly 
this growing demand. 



45 

TABLE XXV 

NUMBER OF COLORED TEACHERS EMPLOYED, 1920-21 



MALE 



FEMALE 









Elemen- 
tary 


High 
School 


jElemen-l 
Total i tary | 

1 


High 
School 


Total 


Rural 






541 
49 


16 
19 


557 1,6241 
68 481 

! 


9 

26 


1,633 


City 






507 


Total 


for 


State... 


..'l 590 


35 


625 2,1051 


35 


2,140 



The same statement may be made of the institutions 
whose function is the preparation of teachers for the 
high schools of the state. These high schools, as was 
shown in Table XV, experienced an increase in attend- 
ance of 28.7% during the one year period from 1919-20 
to 1920-21. The supply of properly trained teachers was 
utterly inadequate before this rapid increase in attend- 
ance began. It is still more inadequate now. 

Table IV in Part One of this report showed that, meas- 
ured by the number of points gained in the Ayres' index 
number for state school systems, Alabama's per cent of 
gain in the purchasing power of the schools during the 
31 year period from 1890 to 1921 was half as great as the 
per cent of gain in such items as length of term, attend- 
ance, etc. How this purchasing power was invested for 
the school year 1920-21 is shown in Table XXIX, which 
shows also the limits between which the several items 
usually fall. 



46 

TABLE XXVI 
TOTAL SALARIES PAID TO COLORED TEACHERS, 1920-21 



MALE 



FEMALE 



Elemen- ! High | ' Elemen- | High 

tary j School i Total i tary I School 



Total 



Rural i? 104,154 1$ 11,5321$ 115,686j$ 337,916!$ 3,310l$ 341,226 

City I 24,872 1 13,264! 38,136! 247,090! 19,581! 266,671 



Total for | i i ! ! I 

State $ 129,026 1$ 24,796 $ 153,822'$ 585,006!$ 22,891l$ 607,897 



TABLE XXVII 

AVERAGE SALARIES PAID TO COLORED TEACHERS, 

1920-21 





MALE 


1 


FEMALE 




1 1 1 
1 ! 1 

Elemen- 1 High Elemen-' High ! 

tary 1 School 1 Total ! tary 1 School 1 Total 


Rural 


$ 192j$ 721 $ 
508| 698 

1 1 


2081$ 
561! 


208 


$ 


1 
368'$ 209 


City - 


514 




7531 526 


Total for State 


$ 218j$ 708i$ 


! 

246'$ 


1 
2771$ 


654 


$ 284 



It is interesting to note that, although Alabama's 
length of term is short, which would tend to make the per 
cent of all expenditures devoted to general control rela- 
tively large, this item falls well within the limits within 



47 



TABLE XXVIIl 

PERCENTAGE DISTRIBUTION OF CERTIFICATES HELD BY 

TEACHERS, 1920-21 

White 





1 

1 Rural 

1 
I 


City 


County 

High 

Schools 


state 
Second- 
ary Ag- 
ricul- 
tural 
Schools 


1 
Total 


Professional 


12% 


7.7%^ 

22.6 

43.71 

20.8 

5.2 


10.6% 

24.8 

63.1 

1.5 

0.0 


20.3%, 

17.0 

62.7 

0.0 

0.0 


2.8% 
11.2 
25.5 
32.9 
27.6 


Life 

First 


1 7.9 

1 19 5 


Second 


i 37 2 


Third _ 


34.2 

( 


Total 


! [ 

1 100.0% 1 


100.0 %r 


1 
100.0% 


100.0%, 

1 

1 


100.0% 




I ! 




Color 


ed 








Professional 


j j 
i 0.31 


2.1 i 
6.2|. 
4.81 

46.6!. 

40.3|. 
1 


1 


1 

1 


0.6 

3 4 


Life 


1 1 

! 2.6j 

1 1.9 

20.0 1 

1 75.21 


1 


1 


First 

Second „... 


1. 

i. 


1 


2.5 
25 5 


Third 




1 


68.0 




I 1 


Total 


1 1 
1 100.0% 1 


I 
100.0% I. 


1 


I inn (\cf. 




1 ! 


1 

I 







which it is iisiially found. Members of boards of educa- 
tion and county and city superintendents of education are 
employed of necessity for twelve months in the year. 
The per diem and salary of these officers is approximately 
the same whether the schools run five months or nine. 
It is clear, therefore, that increases in the length of the 
school term, while necessitating larger expenditures for 



48 



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49 

teachers' salaries and for the maintenance and operation 
of the school plant, will require only minor increases in 
the several items of general control, and that general 
control will become an even smaller per cent of the total 
budget. 

The schools of Jefferson county, which have reached 
standards which the schools of most of the counties can- 
not hope to attain until their school revenues have been 
very largely increased, apportion only 3.2% of current 
; expenses to general control. If the term in this county 
; were to be reduced to the average for the state, the ex- 
; penditure for general control could be reduced only very 
1 slightly and would, therefore, be a larger per cent of the 
\ total expenditure. 

^ Table XXIX shows also that Alabama devotes a great- 
er per cent of her total expenditures to teachers' salaries 
and a smaller per cent to supervision than is the usual 
practice. Supervision is a most effective form of teacher- 
training in service. In view^ of the fact that so many of 
Alabama's teachers have so little training, it is probable 
that the educational interests of the pupils would be bet- 
ter served if these teachers could more generally have 
the advantages offered by the advice, assistance and en- 
couragement of good supervisors. Inefficiency results 
in private business when supervision is reduced below a 
certain point, and that point is higher where the workers 
are inadequately trained. A comparison of Alabama's 
expenditure for supervision with the expenditure usual 
throughout the United States indicates the possibility 
that Alabama's smaller expenditure is one of her weak- 
nesses. 

In Table XXX the distribution of Alabama's expendi- 
tures for 1920-21 has been shown in graphic form. 

The annual cost per pupil enrolled for the public 
schools of the state is shown in Table XXXI. It will be 



TABLE XXX 

DISTRIBUTION OF PAYMENTS FOR CURRENT EXPENSES, 

19 ' -"1 




3uper//7/cnc/c/?/3, 3c/?oo/ 3oc/r(y3^ Cor??- 

mmm/Fe/?/, //73ur^r?ce, S//^.50/ - L3% 

k\\NX\i l/Srczr/es, Tra/7spor/a//o/7 , /-/eaM, 

m\\\\\\\\\\\ j^epcf/r^, /^<^jD/ace/r?e/7/3, 0^/ceep, 

I 1 //?3/rc/c//on 1797, 786-33.9% 



51 

TABLE XXXI 

COST PER PUPIL ENROLLED PER YEAR OF ALL CURRENT 
EXPENSES, 1920-21 



WHITE SCHOOLS 



lElemen- 
! tary 



High 
School 



Total 



COLORED SCHOOLS 



Elemen-I High | 

tary i School | Total 



Rural j$ 14.69;? 43.17j$ ]6.35|$ 4.29|$ 31.93;$ 4.41 

City , 29.27 1 b9.05j 34.81 11.241 37.02! 12.10 

County High \ ^ \ \ \ \ 

Schools I ; I 54.42J 54.42| | i 

State Secondary ' ! I ! I 

Agric. Schools.. i 67.171 67.17i | I 

Total for State | 17.521 53.72] 20.851 5.771 35.40 1 6.09 



The cost per pupil per year for Alabama's white schools com- 
pares as follows with the cost for the United States (1918): Ala- 
bama, Rural, $16.35; U. S., Rural, $24.13; Alabama, City, $34.81; 
U. S., City, $40.60. (Bulletin, 1920, No. 31, U. S. Bureau of Educa- 
tion, p. 15.) It should be borne in mind that the figures for the 
United States are for white and colored schools combined. 



noted from the totals that the cost of high school in- 
struction is approximately three times as great as the 
cost of elementary instruction in the white schools of the 
state. For the Ihiitod States as a whole high school costs 
exceed elementary school costs in somewhat the same 
proportion. Table XXXII gives these costs on a per diem 
basis. 

The fact that the cost of high school instruction is so 
much greater than the cost of elementary school instruc- 
tion, together with the fact that the increase in high 
school attendance has been so rapid, creates a financial 
problem which should receive serious consideration. It 



52 

TABLE XXXII 

COST PER PUPIL ENROLLED PER DAY OF ALL CURRENT 
EXPENSES, 1920-21 

I WHITE SCHOOLS I COLORED SCHOOLS 



lElemen-' High I |Elemen-' High 1 

tary I School | Total | tary I School I Total 



1 

Rural 1 


12c' 


1 

1 

31c 


1 
14c 


04c 1 


22c 


05c 






City _ 1 


17c 1 


34c 1 


20c 1 


07c 


22ci 

1 


07c 


County High 

Schools L. 


1 


1 
1 
31c 


31c 




i 






1 




State Secondary 1 
Agric. Schools 1 


! 


1 
38c 


38c| 





! 




1 

1 

Total for State 


1 

13c'| 

1 


j 

34c 

1 


16c| 


05c 


1 

22cj 


05c 



The cost per pupil per day for Alabama's white schools com- 
pares as follows with the cost for the United States (1918): Ala- 
bama, Rural, 14c; U. S., Rural, 15c; Alabama, City, 20c; U. S., 
City, 22c. (Computed from data given in Bulletin, 1920, No. 31, 
U. S. Bureau of Education.) It should be borne in mind that the 
figures for the United Sttes are for white and colored schools 
combined. 

is obvious that the more expensive high school instruc- 
tion cannot be provided for steadily increasing numbers 
without large increases in revenue. It may be safely 
predicted that during the next decade the rate of in- 
crease in attendance on high school will continue fairly 
constantly, particularly in the rural districts of the state 
which have the least adequate revenues. 

The value of buildings, sites and equipment per pupil 
enrolled is shown in Table XXXIII. In reading this table 
it should be noted that the figures given for rural and for 
city schools are for elementary and high schools com- 
bined. These figures are not, therefore, comparable with 
the figures for county high schools and state secondary 



53 

TABLE XXXIII 

VALUE OF BUILDINGS AND SITES AND EQUIPMENT PER 
PUPIL ENROLLED, 1920-21 

\ \ 

I WHITE SCHOOLS I COLORED SCHOOLS 



Build- 1 I 1 Build- I I 

ings I Equip- I I ings | Equip- | 

and I ment ! Total ' and 1 ment ! Total 

Sites I I I Sites I | 



Rural 


.[$ 29.15|$ 


! 1 

3.75!$ 32.90|$ 


! 

8.22 1$ 


0.89J$ 


9.11 


City - 


1 95.011 


8.44 103.45| 


28.181 


2.85| 


31.03 


County High 
Schools 


1 I 
.j 179.871 


1 1 

21.301 *201.17| 












i 


! 




State Secondary 
Agric. Schools 


i 1 
! 160.401 


15.70[ *176.10I 


1 


1 
...1 








I 






Total for State 


.j$ 43.861$ 


1 1 
5.111$ 48.971$ 


12.571$ 


! 

1.3l|$ 


13.88 



*The data for County High Schools and for State Secondary 
Agricultural Schools, it should be noted, are for high schools only 
and should not be compared with the data for Rural or for City 
Schools which are for high and elementary schools combined. The 
value of buildings, sites and equipment per pupil enrolled for Ala- 
bama's white schools compares as follows with the average for the 
United States (1918): Alabama, Rural, $32.90; U. S., Rural, $59.07; 
Alabama, City, $103.45: U. S, City, $146.62. (Bulletin, 1920, No. 
31, U. S. Bureau of Education, p. 27.) Alabama, County High 
Schools, $201.17; State Secondary Agricultural Schools, $176.10; 
U. S., High Schools, $418.71. (Computed from data given in Bulle- 
tin, 1920, No. 19, U. S. Bureau of Education.) It should be borne 
in mind that the figures for the United States are for white and 
colored schools combined. 

agricultural schools, which in the nature of the case are 
for high schools only. 

The inequalities which exist between rural and city 
schools as shown in the preceding pages are further com- 
plicated by even greater inequalities between the rural 
schools of the several sections of the state. In some 
counties a very small tax makes possible a term of seven 



54 

or eight months. Other counties, by taxing themselves 
to the constitutional limit, are barely able to maintain a 
term of five months even by paying salaries so small as 
practically to forbid that well trained teachers will be 
secured. As a single illustration of this inequality the 
cases of Lowndes and Marion counties may be taken. 

The taxpayer of Lowndes county pays only the three- 
mill state tax for the support of his schools. The tax- 
payer of Marion county pays slightly more than eight 
mills for the support of his schools, made up of the three- 
mill state tax, the one-mill county tax, the three mill 
county tax and a district tax which has been levied in a 
sufficient number of districts to produce a revenue slight- 
ly greater than that which would result from one mill on 
all property in the county. The educational situation in 
the two counties is shown below: 

Lowndes Marion 

County. County. 

Expenditure per white pupil for current ex- 
penses _ $41.64 $10.25 

Expenditure per colored pupil for current ex- 
penses $3.96 $6.30 

Length of white elementary term in days 142 95 

Length of colored elementary term in days 66 85 

Average white teacher's salary $607.00 $381.00 

Average colored teacher's salary $146.00 $206.00 

SUMMARY 

Though elementary school enrollments were slightly 
smaller in 1920-21 than in 1919-20, more regular attend- 
ance resulted in an increase in average daily attendance 
for the same period. 

High school enrollment and attendance for 1920-21 
showed amazing increases over 1919-20. 

One white boy or girl out of eleven attending rural 
schools was in the high school. One out of six attending 
city schools was in the high school. 



55 

The average white boy or girl attending rural elemen- 
.ary schools was present only 79 days out of the school 
'ear. The average white boy or girl attending city ele- 
nentary schools was present 183 days out of the school 

rear. 

I 

Approximately 60 f>' of all white boys or girls attend- 
ng rural schools attended one or two-teacher schools. 

Four-fifths of all rural communities served by six- 
(^acher or larger schools had the district tax. One com- 
jliumty in seven served by one-teacher schools had the 
fistrict tax. 
Seven out of ten white rural teachers held the two low- 
it grades of certificates. Three out of ten white city 
liachers held these certificates. 

' Alabama's expenditure for "general control" is the per 
2nt of her total expenditures which, throughout the 
"^nited States, is usually apportioned to this item. 
Alabama's expenditure for teachers' salaries is a larger 
'br cent of her total expenditures than is usual through- 
bt the United States. 

I Alabama's expenditure for supervision is a smaller per 
jtsnt of her total expenditures than is usual throughout 
[46 United States. 

'Inequalities of educational opportunity which exist 
fttween counties are as great as the inequalities which 
^ist between cities and rural districts. 



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